


A New Medium

by chroniclackofselfpreservation



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Gen, I'm not joking - Freeform, Interactive, Metafiction, Reader-Interactive, basically watch the sides explore ao3, narrator is literally me, nothing trigger warning worthy, so you'll really just have to read it and find out, this is the most meta thing i've ever written, what other tags do I even put?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 13:47:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29917818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chroniclackofselfpreservation/pseuds/chroniclackofselfpreservation
Summary: "So this is what the summary box is like," Roman mused, looking around. "Oh! Sorry, didn't see you there!" he laughed, noticing you. "Check out the fic! I show the gang around AO3 and fanfiction in general!"
Comments: 12
Kudos: 19





	A New Medium

Patton, Logan, and Virgil all appeared at Roman’s side, slightly disoriented. 

“That should do it!’ Roman announced, looking around with pride. “Welcome to fanfiction!”

Virgil pulled his hood down over his eyes. “This is messing with my head. Can we just go back to the YouTube videos? I’d just gotten used to them.”

“Ooh! Look at the words! Whatever I say shows up!” Patton said with excitement, reading along as the prose lined the page.

Logan cocked an eyebrow. “I wonder what the parameters are. Deoxyribonucleic acid. Antidisestablishmentarianism. Rhodostemonodaphne capixabensis,” he rattled off, surprised to find the author could keep up with him.

Roman smirked at the words on the screen. “Time works differently for her. Whenever she stops typing, our world freezes,” he explained. Indeed, the author had had to look up that last word online before typing it out. Apparently, Logan knew the entire scientific name of an obscure Brazilian tree for some reason. 

“So, what, she’s got super powers or something?” Virgil asked, peeking out from under his hood and at last inspecting his surroundings. “What do you mean, _at last?”_ he grumbled, reading the words. “I was getting adjusted. Gimme a break.”

“Her?” Logan wondered. “I’m unaccustomed to being under the creative whims of someone aside from you or Thomas,” he said to Roman. “Have you met this person?”

Roman chuckled. “No. We can’t directly interact with her in this medium. She has a bio, though.”

Patton looked around for this so-called bio, unaware that the _Profile_ tab on the left-hand side would lead him right to it. 

“Oh! Thanks, invisible-writer-lady!” he said, skipping over to the bio with the rest of the gang following curiously. Roman watched them with amusement. As a facet of creativity itself, he was always slightly more aware of the projects he was portrayed in than the other sides. This piece, however, had been specially crafted to give them _all_ perfect awareness of the medium. 

“Exactly,” Roman said quietly, so only the author could discern his words. “Speaking of, I don’t appreciate all the angst you’ve been writing me—” he started, but unfortunately the scene had to move on, and Roman was cut off. Rolling his eyes, he joined the group at the profile page. 

_“Call me Nico, she/her,”_ Logan read aloud. 

“What a pretty name! Hi, Nico!” Patton squealed, waving enthusiastically despite not being able to _see_ the author. Regardless, she found this incredibly endearing.

“A pseudonym, perhaps?” Logan correctly assumed. “Interesting,” he muttered, “she not only describes what’s happening in real time, but also adds her own narrative voice to answer our questions. How peculiar.”

As the author and narrator, Nico was able to interact with the characters through prose. If she were to directly insert herself into the fic, she would become a character, controlled by herself. It hurt her brain to think about. Simply using her name and pronouns already tiptoed across that line—though having narrators as characters in literature wasn’t rare by any means.

“Nice username,” Virgil said, gesturing to the header on the left. “Definitely my speed.”

Patton squinted up at it, mouth moving silently as he deciphered the string of words. “Hey, that—is that true, Nico?”

“A chronic lack of self preservation is troubling, indeed,” Logan added. 

Roman quickly explained to them that the username was more of a cynical joke than anything to be seriously worried about. Though, the author’s therapist might have something to say about it. Having discovered everything of note in the profile, the four of them made their way back to the fanfiction itself. 

Virgil blinked. “What was that?”

“That was summary,” Roman explained. “It’s where she writes about something that already happened without staying in scene, like we are now.”

“Incredible,” Logan breathed. “I remember your explanation happening, but did not directly experience it. If I may ask, Nico, how much control do you have over us in this format?”

As the author of the fic, Nico had total control. The only reason the three of them were aware of her presence was because she wrote them that way. Roman had a nasty little habit of doing things his own way, despite her outlines. Curse his hyperaware creative streak. 

Roman raised his hands innocently. “Hey, I’ve got to flaunt what I’ve got.”

Of course, I could always switch the perspective to first person instead of the sort of distant, omniscient third person I had been using before, but that automatically makes me (the narrator) also a character, since the last perspective had more of an implied ‘I’. 

I can change the tense as well. Watch. 

“This is super trippy,” Virgil says. 

Logan adjusts his glasses. “Fascinating,” he gushes. “The verbs all changed.”

To save Virgil’s mind, the author reverted back to the simple past and third person perspective. That was what she wrote most of her fics in anyway, so it came naturally to her. Another facet of fic writing that she thought they might find interesting was a scene break. 

“A scene _break?”_ Patton asked. 

Roman smiled. “Just watch.”

* * *

Virgil stumbled a bit, Roman steadying him with a hand. “That is _such_ a strange feeling. I hate it.”

Patton pointed above their heads. “Look! A line!” 

“It’s used to divide scenes up or signal the passage of time,” Roman explained. He glanced down, noticing the end of the fic approaching. “Before we go, guys, Nico wanted me to introduce you to the reader.”

“The reader?” Logan wondered. “Another omnipotent creator?”

Roman shook his head. “Over there,” he said pointing. Nico withdrew her guiding hand, allowing Roman the figurative wheel. She and the reader were separated by the insurmountable barrier of time and space. It was up to Roman and the others to interact with them. 

Patton gasped. “I can see them! Hi, there!!”

“ _Jeez,”_ Virgil hissed in surprise, whirling around. “Were they watching us this entire time?”

Logan dipped his head cordially. “Salutations, reader.”

“Aw, they’re smiling,” Patton cooed, beaming. “How adorable.”

“Don’t patronize them, Pat,” Virgil muttered. 

“Hush, Dr. Gloom,” Roman chided good-naturedly, nudging Virgil in the ribs. “Let the padre have this moment. Oh,” he said, turning his attention to you, “a pleasure meeting you, my dear.”

Patton frowned. “Is their mouth moving? I can’t hear them.” He cupped his hands around his mouth. “CAN YOU HEAR—oh _look,_ capital letters!”

“No, we can’t hear them, Patton, but I could see them blushing from a mile away,” Roman teased. 

“Flirt,” Virgil muttered. 

“Are you properly hydrated?” Logan asked, peering up at your face. “Have you gone outside today? Do take care of yourself, reader.”

“Aw, Lo, that’s sweet,” Patton said with a grin.

“I am merely looking out for their wellbeing, Patton.”

“Virgil, why don’t you say something?” Roman pressed. “I’m sure they’d love to hear from you.”

Virgil flushed, gripping the sides of his hoodie. He looked up at you warily. “Uh, hey,” he said with a tiny wave. 

“Look, they loved it!” Patton said. 

“The fic’s ending soon,” Roman said, watching its slow approach. “Everyone say bye.”

“Bye! See you later!” Patton called, entirely too loud, waving both hands in the air as if sending off a ship. “I love you! Be safe! Listen to what Logan said!!”

“Farewell,” Logan said, a faint smile playing at his lips. 

“See ya, I guess,” Virgil said, trying to hide his steadily reddening face. 

The three of them began retreating back where they came from, leaving Roman in the foreground with the reader. “You know, you can always come back here and see us again,” he said. “I’m sure they’d love it.” 

Roman glanced down “Ah, look. There it is. The end. “

A marvelous white cape appeared on his shoulders, his prince outfit gleaming. Roman took an elegant, sweeping bow, chancing one last glance up at you. 

He winked, a playful smile spreading across his face. 

“That’s all folks.”


End file.
